I have my rental car ready and I am heading out along the coast for a road trip. In my research I found that a drive down Great Ocean road is a must. A road trip along great ocean road is the plan. I am starting from Melbourne (or Lancefield – guesthouse location) and will ultimately end up in Adelaide where I will return my rental car.
I drove near Hanging Rock yesterday so I am not a total novice to driving on “the wrong side of the road” but I admit I am a little nervous on driving on curvy cliff-side roads in traffic. I will drive slowly and cautiously. Hopefully locals won’t want to kill me for backing up traffic.
My little car seems to do well. Things do get a little curvy at some points but I make it through ok.
As soon as I reach the coast I am rewarded with beautiful views. My first stop is in Torquay for some lunch. I originally planned for lunch at another restaurant in another town but I discovered the restaurant I originally wanted to dine at is closed for the day. I instead stop at Fishos for some fish and chips.
Torquay
It takes me longer than usual to order because I have never had any of the types of fish on the menu. I ask the cashier lots of questions to get an idea of the different fish types and how to compare them to fish I know. I settle on one finally and of course order it fried – because fried. I like the nice little outdoor area. The weather is perfect.
Other restaurants nearby
Weirdo birds that just lay in the grass like this. Must be nesting.
I am parked across the street at a park that overlooks the water. I walk along the trail, taking in the views. I notice many birds along the way.
I drive on but stop on my way to Lorne to get some spectacular views of the coast.
Lorne
I stop at Lorne to take some pictures. I enjoy the shale-like flat rocks and watching surfers at the beach. It looks like a nice area. I would have liked to spend a night here and explore a little more.
Lorne Beach
Again I am on my way and stop at another lookout.
I slowly move away from the coast as I head to my final destination for the day north of the Great Otway National Park. Oh how I wish I scheduled more days on this drive. There are so many areas I would have loved to explore more….
I asked for downtime and I got it. My time in Da Nang is basically a bust.
I am able to arrange to van ride to Da Nang from Hue. The van ride I book includes a couple stops along the way.
Thanh Toan Bridge
First stop on our ride is in a small village that is famous for its Thanh Toan Bridge. little bridge Thanh Toan Bridge, a Japanese bridge built in the 1700’s. It is a quaint wooden bridge in a quiet town. Note: At the time of this post I discovered the bridge has been disassembled for possible renovations.
Lang Co Beach
Our second stop is at Lang Co Beach. We stop at what looks likes a once great beach resort but now appears to be fallen into disrepair. There is a place to buy jewelry on this stop (there is always is). I don’t bother going in so not sure if it was gold or whatever. We walk through the resort to get a view of the beach. If it isn’t for all of the trash on the beach it seems like it could be a wonderful place during season. I see some medical waste.
Hai Van Quan
Last stop is the Hai Van Quan along the Van Hai pass. Van Hai Pass is the curvy scenic road that you take into Da Nang. It is quite overcast today but it does still look pretty out the window. We stop at the Hai Van Quan. Built in 1826 by King Minh Mang the gate overlooks Da Nang and also contains an old French fort and Vietnam War bunker.
Da Nang
Finally I am in DaNang. I think I am the only passenger stopping here, the rest are onto Hoi An.
I had high hopes for Da Nang. I am going to visit that famous hand bridge, the marble mountain, and more…. but of course I am visiting during rainy season. I knew there is a risk of rainy days but pretty much my whole time in Da Nang consisted of thunderstorms, not unlike the tropical storms we get in Florida. I felt at home, sort of.
My room is on an upper floor and I have a great view of the ocean.
Storms start. I head upstairs to get a look at the pool. It is closed of course. I’ll try for a visit later.
As the storm progresses the wind gets stronger. The weather proofing from the windows does not hold and water slowly puddles in. I use towels from the bathroom to soak up the water so it doesn’t further flood the room. I later call to tell them repair is needed but they don’t seem too concerned so I just make sure to ask for more towels since mine are all on water duty.
It is later before the storms end. I am not in the mood to explore town in the evening. Instead I take pictures of Lady Buddha off in the distance.
I send an email to my family to check in and let them know I am safe. It is soon after I get a reply from one aunt who remembers my uncle getting stationed in Da Nang during the Vietnam war. I had no clue, war stories don’t seem to be widely discussed. It is odd for my aunts to imagine it being a vacation resort town now when my uncle had a vastly different experience here many years ago. It makes me appreciate how far things have come since then.
Day 2
It is supposed to storm once again all day. I decide not to arrange a ride to sights and just take more downtime since I am not in the mood to be out in the rain.
Buffet breakfast is interesting at the hotel. This is the first place I’ve been at in a while that doesn’t offer a western style breakfast.
During breakfast the storm comes again.
Got a little rooftop pool time during one the brief times the sun comes out. I almost have the entire pool to myself. It is a nice and relaxing view but doesn’t last long because the storms start again.
My hotel offers afternoon tea. I decide to take advantage of it today.
A couple hours pass and I am sick of wasting time watching movies and such. I am in the mood for pizza and luckily the rain stops again. I find a European style pizza place run by an Italian ex-pat near by.
After all that food I need a walk, luckily the rain still hasn’t begun again. I walk down to My Khe Beach.
My Khe Beach
On the way to the beach I walk by some seafood markets. The different types of crustaceans and clams fascinate me.
It is a little challenging to walk across to the beach. There is a steady stream of traffic and they are going much faster than Hanoi. I am scared to try the Hanoi cross here. Luckily traffic lightens up enough for me to cross.
The beach is nice and quiet with only a few people relaxing in the sand; it is off season so it is normal for the beach to be empty.
The rain starts again so I head back to my hotel. This evening is Halloween and rain does stop briefly in the evening for me to go out for a beer. There is a not so crowded bar and food area about 5 blocks away I don’t stay long because I am sure the rain will start again soon.
My stay in Da Nang is short and I pretty much miss all the main attractions but I am well rested. I’ll have to return to Da Nang sometime when it is not rainy season!
I’m just going to say the thing that you non-travelers don’t want to hear. Traveling in itself sometimes feels like work and on occasion one needs a day off from their days off.
Today is that day for me. It was a hard decision to make since I have a not so cheap rental car sitting in a parking garage for a second day. But it is raining and I totally failed at making yesterday a slow day (I was supposed to do laundry and chill around town, but instead ended up walking around 10 miles in the sun up and down the shore line – after doing laundry).
So today I am sitting in bed catching up on things, doing a little reading. And I am going to try really hard to not feel guilty about it.
Here is some pictures of lovely Gijon to prove I did walk around yesterday.
First of two laundromats I visited yesterday morning. This had half the machines broken.
Growing With Leala 